Soap was the star – memories of Brookside

It was set in Jodie’s hometown of Liverpool and ran from 1982 until being axed in 2003.

This week marks the anniversary of its launch – the first episode was screened on November 2, 1982, with the last one showing on November 4, 2003. The show regularly attracted audiences of more than eight million viewers and it was notable for its socially challenging headlines.

Among the many fans tuning in was Weekend editor Caroline Jones. “I’m with Jodie Comer,” she says. “They need to make a comeback.”

Caroline was aged seven or eight when she started to tune in. That was around the time that key characters Damon and Debbie became so popular that they had their own spin-off series. Like so many other fans, Caroline only had eyes for Damon.

“I wish I could watch Brookside now. It was the first TV show I ever really watched and Damon was probably my first crush.”

Caroline fell head over heels in love with Damon, played by Simon O’Brien. The spin-off series featuring him and Debbie, played by Gillian Kearney, followed them as they absconded to York to escape their disapproving Liverpudlian parents. The relationship was ill-fated, however, and Damon died when he was stabbed beside a riverbank and died in Debbie’s arms.

Caroline remembers: “I was just absolutely in love with Damon. I thought he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. At that time I also had a crush on my cousin, so I might have been a bit of a mixed-up child to be honest. I think my mum must have taped the spin-off on video and I watched it over and over and over again.”

Caroline’s devotion to Damon led to a bust-up with her own brother.

“I’d done something, I can’t remember what, that upset my brother. I think I accidentally recorded over a video of something that he loved. Out of spite, he recorded over Damon and Debbie so I couldn’t watch it. He felt guilty for years, then years later he spent a fortune getting a VHS copy of it for me. Now they’re all on YouTube anyway so he needn’t have spent the money, but that was how much of a fan I was.”

Caroline was distraught when Damon died and describes her affinity for Brookside as ‘an obsession’.

“I loved everything about it. I had little postcards with all the cast on. A couple of cast members were in an event in Wrexham one time, near where I lived, and I seem to remember Damon was supposed to be there. I queued up with my mum, my brother and my nanna to meet him, but when I got there there was no Damon, just Debbie. It was one let-down after another. No wonder I was so messed up.”

For a while, Caroline was convinced she and Damon would get married and live happily ever after.

“I got over the heartbreak of Damon. I can’t remember when I stopped watching it, but there were some really big storylines in there, like Trevor Jordache.”

Because Caroline was such a big fan, she went for a birthday trip to see the houses where the show was filmed after the show had ended and the set was being sold off.

“It was amazing to see it. We took a few photos of the set when we were there. I was looking through the windows and there were still cables from the set in there. It brought back so many happy memories and I could remember the shows and different storylines.”

For Caroline, the show helped her to connect with characters. “It was more real than other soaps. It was good escapism but it was also real life, about the troubles and daily struggles that everyone has. Eventually, it got too far-fetched and that’s when I stopped watching.”

The big question, of course, is whether or not Caroline ever got over her love for Damon. The answer, it seems, is probably not.

If she were to accidentally bump into Simon O’Brien at a filling station in Liverpool or Wrexham and had a minute to ask him one question, she knows what it would be: “It would probably be ‘Will you marry me?’

“It’s not over yet. I know I should move on. But never say never, eh?”

If you’re reading, Damon, you know who to call.

Do you have fond memories of another show that used to feature on our TV screens? If so, email arichardson@shropshirestar.co.uk